The first six Shine shows seemed almost like a prelude for what was to come in the rest of their existence. Having a huge heel group form is a big step toward stepping up multiple storylines and threads. For the women not involved with Valkyrie, there is at least some effort in building up other parts of the show too. We’ll really have a chance to see these developments later in the review. Shine was setting up some chess pieces in the right places. Now it’s about executing strategy. To me, the company has to compensate for the in-ring not being at the caliber of the top indies by crafting interesting interactions and for the women to do what many male wrestlers don’t, show personality and be something besides a strong style workrate machine.
The first two matches, like the first few shows, were essentially throwaways. Brittney Savage, who I’ve always been led to believe was a terrible in-ring worker actually did a solid job in what amounted to a squash against Heidi Lovelace. This only went five minutes, so it’s tough to really evaluate her skillset, but Savage did a good job of using her kick based offense and eventually winning with one straight to the head. If the option is watching someone botch high flying moves or using kicks to kill an opponent, give me the kicks every single time. It’s all about storytelling and doing what makes sense. Lovelace tried to work the arm but succumbed quickly. Based on Savage winning in this fashion, I’m assuming they’ve got plans for her. Tina San Antonio, La Rosa Negra, and Luscious Latasha had a fairly innocuous three way. I’m not a fan of random three ways on the card since I don’t think they do anyone favors. Matches like this are tough to execute for even the best performers. To have three women who range in ability and experience wrestle in a match like this only hinders them. San Antonio won in less than five minutes. I called the finish a Russian legsweep, but it looked ugly.
I was a bit concerned about the card going into match number three as Jessie Belle made her debut against Santana. They got eight minutes and put together a very solid and watchable match. Some good back and forth. Belle showed off a strong heel persona, and in combination with the crowd really responding to Santana as she continues to win matches and be a spunky, happy-go-lucky performer. I think she comes off as genuinely happy and bubbly. This can make a huge difference for fans. Belle is the one who went after Santana’s hair and slowed the pace down. Belle also got caught cheating by the referee in a nice touch, and this lead directly to the finish. Santana eventually won another match with the Shining Star Press in what I thought was a surprisingly good contest.
It was announced that at Shine 8, Reby Sky would put her career on the line against Jessica Havok having to say she respected Sky. Much credit to Shine for making this seem like a big deal and to the women for building up the rivalry quickly. Next, Angelina Love came out for an interview segment. She tried to talk but got interrupted by fellow TNA survivor Rain. This was like a sign post saying “These two are going to wrestle soon.” That’s not a knock on the booking. I wish set-ups like this happened more.
The first of three Valkyrie matches came next as Ivelisse beat LuFisto thanks to shenanigans. If this was a sign of things to come, Valkyrie matches are going to become very predictable and repetitive. Despite the finish, the wrestling was strong. I’m not sure what has happened since Tough Enough, but ivelisse has gotten herself in great shape and really incorporated submission based offense well. LuFisto is a 16 year veteran and fantastic to watch. This could have been an even match with a clean finish. Ivelisse used a ton of holds throughout the match while LuFisto used more strikes. This was a very physical match that didn’t over rely on strong style wrestling and no selling to get over. Good work by them.
April Hunter made her Shine wrestling debut and teamed with Allysin Kay and Taylor Made to wrestle Su Yung, Traci Taylor, and Mia Yim. Yim and Kay’s AIW feud was alluded to as they had interaction in this six woman tag. After not winning with Seven Deadly, Made and Kay introduced a new finish, Eight Deadly, to finally pin Yim. Basically, it’s the Dudley Death Drop. Interesting match. Made in Sin are a very good act, and Hunter had very little to do in the ring. The babyfaces cleared house early before eventually being worked over. They came back and there was a big finishing sequence where again, some shenanigans took place. This wasn’t nearly as eye roll worthy as the finish of the previous finish at least. Can’t argue with pulling the heels over so strongly on this night given they just came together.
Mercedes Martinez and Nikki Roxx are both long term veterans of the sport, so you knew their match was going to be one of the best of the show. Indeed, it was as they went at it for 11 minutes. Their experience and how well they knew each other was obvious. The match turned into a bit of brawl, which Roxx with the Barbie Crusher. That has to be my favorite finisher name in indie wrestling right now.
After some wacky Twitter back and forth, henceforth to be known as TWITTER WARZ, and a creepy video by Leva Bates, Kimberly came out scared for her life. Her being attacked from behind at the last show likely didn’t help. Bates did come out of the crowd dressed like the Scarecrow. Kimberly is scared, so Bates comes out as a representation of fear as established by modern popular culture. I get it. There was blown powder early for whatever reason. Then Bates couldn’t get the fire extinguisher working in what was a hilarious Botchamania moment. The match turned into a good brawl. Some good back and forth between the girls. Bates got a measure of revenge after losing at the last show by superkicking a chair into the face of Kimberly. She was able to stand while Kimberly was not. To prove the feud wasn’t over, Kimberly beat Bates down and applied her cloverleaf finish. Then the final insult…stealing her Scarecrow mask. This was another good match in a series of them. I can’t say I saw any match of the year contenders, but the work by all the girls was consistent. Each match presented something different and felt like it served a purpose.
I’m not sure what the issue is, but Shine main events are not living up to their potential since the first event saw Sara Del Rey and Jazz put on a borderline classic. Rain and Amazing Kong went eight minutes. There was a good two minutes of stalling and a horrendous ending as Rain faked being hit by a chair and got Kong disqualified. If this is the third match on Smackdown, then fine. But this is the main event of a show people paid 15 dollars for. You’ve got to deliver in this situation. This didn’t and marred what was a fine card. Valkyrie came out for a heel beatdown on Kong, but more babyfaces came out for the save.
The ending was weak sauce, but there were five matches on this show I’d rate at least three stars or above. You can’t find a lot of other places that could deliver in this way. This was a consistent show that had a number of storytelling moments. Every non-Valkyrie match had a satisfying finish and provided a chance for the women to showcase themselves. This is my favorite Shine show up to this point.
Grade: B
-Taped from Ybor City, Florida
-Commentators: Lenny Leonard and Daffney
-Brittney Savage defeats Heidi Lovelace after a kick to the side of the head/5:05/*1/2
-Tina San Antonio defeats La Rosa Negra and Luscious Latasha in a three way match. San Antonio pinned Latasha after a Russian legsweep./4:28/*
-Santana defeats Jessie Belle by pinfall after the Shining Star Press/8:09/***
-Ivelisse defeats LuFisto by pinfall after Disdain/15:23/***1/4
-Made in Sin/Valkyrie (Allysin Kay, Taylor Made, and April Hunter) vs. West Coast Connection (Su Yung and Traci Taylor) and Mia Yim. Made pins Yim after 8 Deadly (3-D) /10:24/***
-Nikki Roxx defeats Mercedes Martinez by pinfall after the Barbie Crusher/11:27/***1/4
-Last Woman Standing: Leva Bates defeats Kimberly after a superhero kick into a chair being held by Kimberly/12:43/***1/4
–Rain (w/Allysin Kay, Taylor Made, April Hunter, and Ivelisse) defeats Amazing Kong by disqualification/8:11/**
For more information on Shine wrestling, check out their website. You can also buy on-demand streams of all their shows on WWN Live.
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